The watch analogy may not be the best example here because you are
assuming that Patek could mislead their customers in a malicious way.
When you buy a Patek you know you are getting a hand made watch with
Swiss parts and movement. When you are buying a Timex you are buying a
watch with machine made generic electronics and parts. The price is reflected
in that.
If Patek were to take a $49 watch and slap their logo on it and
pretend it is a $10,000 watch, then that is pretty much fraud. Having a chair made
and printed and selling it for $50 is not the same. We are not
packaging this chair and pretending it is something it is not. We never
said it was a Bauhaus inspired chair or a Barcelona chair. It is a
camping chair and that is all it has ever been called. We never mislead
anyone to believe it was anything other than that. At the lowest end a
camping chair is probably around $15. At the highest end they are
probably $100. We priced ours at $50.
In addition to the cost to make a chair there are other expenses
such as making a screen and printing them. Each screen (there are three
on this chair) cost money to make, each print (there are three on this
chair) cost money to print. There are also freight shipping expenses to
get the chair to the factory. Like I said before we made these as a
fun accessory for us to use and for others who want one to use as well.
We did not make a lot of them. The costs to make small numbers of anything are
expensive. This is
the lowest margin item we have produced in 2013 (Ebbets Field collab hats are a
close second). Businesses try to look for a 75% gross margin as
someone above stated because they have to sell to retailers and then
retailers have to sell to the consumer. They also have overhead and fixed expenses. It is one of the reasons the skis you ride
cost around $180 to make but retail for around $750.
I assume you have purchased a t-shirt from a brand at some point.
99% of clothing brands buy a blank t-shirt and print on them. Some
charge $100 and some charge $12. They are the same basic canvas. It is
the brand that determines the cost. Well, we make our own blank
t-shirts and like anything we do, it is not cheap. My point is that we
do not approach our business they way most companies do and maybe that
is one of the reasons we have the type of following we have. I am not
sure to be honest. We work hard, we do our best to put out unique, high
quality products, and we focus on the details. You are not interested
in the chair and that is completely fine by us. Our customers are and
those are the people we focus on.
Anyways, that is some insight from our end. Not trying to be
rude at all. Agree with us or not, hopefully it at least helps you see
it from our perspective.
